A Time For Hope
by a novelist
Summary: Sequel to A Time for Grace.


Written for Just-DoWhatYouLove, by request.

* * *

"She's late." Beck sighed heavily as he rummaged through the refrigerator. He removed several condiments from the top shelf, then took an unopened package of bologna out of one of the drawers. He lightly closed the door. "She's almost an hour late. Why?"

"How should I know? I'm with you." Jade took a seat at the kitchen table. "Did you make coffee this morning?"

"No." He smeared mayonnaise on a slice of bread. "I've been kind of busy here, babe. Gabby is supposed to be at school in twenty minutes, and her mother is nowhere to be found." He placed a heaping pile of ham on another slice of bread, then finished the sandwich and encased it in a Ziploc bag. "Gabby! Sweetheart, are you ready for school?"

For a moment, there was silence. But suddenly, he heard the sound of running footsteps, followed by joyful laughter. Gabriella came tearing past her father with her two year old half brother Trey in tow. "He's going to get me, Daddy!"

Jade rolled her eyes as the siblings ran past her. "No running in the house!" She stood and walked over to the coffeepot. She filled it with water. "Why don't you call her already? I'm _not_ going to get stuck dragging that little nuisance to school."

Beck glared. "Jade," he said warningly, "that is entirely uncalled for."

Before she could answer, someone knocked on the door. "Finally," Beck muttered. He strode toward the front door. He snuck a glance at his watch. "By now, she's going to be lucky to make it to school on time."

Jade rolled her eyes and stood. "It's Kindergarten. I'm sure she'll live." She poured herself a cup of coffee, then took it and disappeared upstairs.

Beck opened the door and found himself facing his former wife. He frowned. "You're late. Really late. Where have you been?"

Tori sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She ran a hand through her dark hair. "I'm under a lot of stress right now. There's so much going on and I'm having trouble keeping up with it all." She looked around the room. "Is Gabby ready?"

He didn't have to answer. As if on cue, the little girl raced down the stairs and toward her mother. "Mommy!"

Tori smiled. She knelt down and took her daughter in her arms. "Hey, baby. I've missed you." She planted a kiss on Gabriella's forehead. "Are you ready for school?" When Gabriella nodded vigorously, Tori said, "Great. Go grab your things and we'll head out."

As they waited, Beck studied Tori carefully. Her dark hair was curled and hung loosely at her shoulders. Her maroon button down shirt had obviously been hastily ironed, as had the pair of black slacks she wore. Her makeup was smeared slightly, especially under her eyes; it looked as though she had been crying. Although she managed to fix a smile on her face, after several years of dating and three years of marriage, he had learned enough about her to know that something still was clearly not right. He hesitated a moment. "Tori," he started, his voice low, "what's bothering you?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Really."

Suddenly, her cell phone beeped once, announcing a message. She rolled her eyes and dug through her purse for it. It was then that Beck caught a glimpse of a small, red and white box, tucked beneath her billfold in her purse.

He sighed. "I thought you quit."

She shrugged, subconsciously shifting the purse on her shoulder. "It's been pretty stressful at work lately, like I said." She removed the box from her purse. "It gets me through the day."

He scoffed. "It's going to do a lot more than that if you keep it up. Did you not learn that from your father?" He plucked the box from her hand, and she glared in response. He ignored her and continued, "You've got to quit. If not for anything or anyone else, do it for Gabby. She needs you. You know that. Don't start something that will undoubtedly finish you off entirely."

She snatched the box back from him. "Your opinion on what I should and shouldn't do stopped mattering to me three years ago when we got divorced." She narrowed her eyes. "And bringing my Dad into this was very low. He had a heart attack and nothing more."

"_Because he smoked_," Beck spat. "Don't you see how dangerous it is? You're going to end up where he is within the next several years if you don't stop smoking. Is that really what you want?"

She scoffed. "I don't have to listen to this. If you don't mind…" she dropped the box into her purse again.

Before he could reply, Gabriella came bouncing back into the room, her backpack slung over her shoulder and her lunchbox dangling from her right hand. "I'm ready, Mommy!"

She smiled. "Great. Let's go. You're going to be late." She turned to leave, glancing only briefly over her shoulder at Beck as she said, "I'll bring her by later tonight, okay?" He nodded, then she left without another word.

But something wasn't right. He knew her too well, and although they had been divorced for over three years already, he couldn't help but feel concerned. What was bothering her?

Jade came up behind him suddenly, bringing him out of his ponderings. She wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed him softly. "You should get ready for work, babe. You're going to be late, too." She paused. "Is everything okay?"

He sighed in response. "I hope so."

* * *

She was barely a block away from her ex-husband's house when she pulled over to the side of the road. With a trembling hand, she removed the key from the ignition and tossed it in the passenger seat.

"Mommy?"

Tori sighed. "Not now, honey," she murmured. She snatched her purse off the seat beside her and dug through it before finally removing the package of cigarettes. She glared down at it and its poisonous contents.

"What a silly thing to die for," she muttered. She leaned back in the seat and studied the box long and hard. The words on it began to blur together as tears pooled in her eyes. "It's not worth it. Not really." She buried the box beneath the contents of her purse. She exhaled heavily and leaned her head back against the headrest. She closed her eyes.

Only then did she allow the tears to finally fall.

Her shoulders shook as soft sobs escaped her throat. Hot tears fell from her eyes, causing her mascara to slowly trickle down her cheeks. She held nothing back.

In the backseat of the car, Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows. "Mommy?" She leaned forward in her seat, eyeing her mother uneasily. "Mommy, why are you crying?"

Tori wiped at her eyes. "I'm fine, baby." She sighed. "I'm just fine."

But she wasn't, and they both knew it. She suddenly heard the _click_ of a seatbelt, and a moment later, her daughter was crawling over the center console and onto Tori's lap. Gabriella wrapped her small hands around Tori. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Tori shook her head, but didn't answer. Instead, she shifted in her seat and held her daughter tightly. She brushed her lips across Gabriella's forehead. "I love you," she whispered. She gently stroked her hair. "I love you so much."

Gabriella smiled. "I love you, too."

Tori gently pulled back, then caressed Gabriella's cheek. She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, then kissed her one last time. "Never forget it."

* * *

"First positions, everyone! First positions, please!"

Beck took a final swig of water before tossing his half empty bottle onto a nearby chair. He snuck a glance at his watch before taking his place onstage.

The director, Nick Starch, took his place in the front row of the theatre, directly in front of center stage. He crossed his legs and pushed his thin glasses up higher on his nose. "All right, everyone. Do this right the first time and we'll all be out of here in no time." He cleared his throat. "You're all doing great, but opening night is in three days, and we have yet to reach perfection."

Beck took his place beside the leading actress, Mia De Luca, who was seated in the mock kitchen. She turned in her chair and smiled up at him. "So, it looks like we're going to be here a while."

"Apparently." He sighed and fiddled with the fork lying in front of him. "Although some of us have a life apart from work to get back to."

"I know what you mean," Mia replied. "How is your family?"

For the first time that afternoon, Beck genuinely smiled. "They're doing well," he replied. "Gabby's growing up so fast. It's sad, really. And Trey…he's adorable. When the two of them are together, though…" he trailed off with a short laugh. "They're a handful."

She smiled. "I'm sure. A five and two year old." She shook her head. "I've got a three year old at home, and I thought _he_ was bad. I just can't imagine it."

Beck smiled. "I can't image life without them, though. Not now, not ever." He shrugged. "They truly do become your entire life."

Suddenly, the theater door burst open and a young man ran in. He clutched a torn-off piece of paper in his left hand. "Beckett Oliver?" he asked breathlessly.

Beck stood slowly. "Yeah?"

Nick was quickly on his feet. He glared angrily at the man. "Excuse me, but we're in the middle of rehearsal." He looked at him over the rim of his thin glasses. "Do you mind?"

But the other man ignored the director, brushing past him and handing Beck the piece of paper. "Call this number," he said. "It's an emergency." And with that, nearly as fast as he had appeared, the young man disappeared, leaving the theater in utter silence.

Beck and Mia exchanged looks. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he removed his cell phone from his pocket. "Sir, if you don't mind – "

"It's fine." Nick sighed. "Take five, everyone. We'll continue this then."

Beck smiled graciously before ducking behind the curtain and disappearing backstage. With trembling hands, he dialed the number that had been sloppily scrawled on the paper. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest the entire time, naturally assuming the worst. Something had happened. Something with Jade, or Trey, or –

"Hello?"

Beck paused a moment, trying to place the voice. It took him several moments, but at last, he did. "Andre?"

It had been years since the former best friends had spoken to each other. The affair that Tori admitted to having with Andre had left both men with sour feelings toward one another, despite Beck's own infidelities. Beck knew that Andre and Tori had recently begun to see each other intimately again, but she had always made sure to keep the two men separated to avoid arguments, especially when Gabriella was nearby.

Now, he was calling him. Why?

Andre cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeah. You need to come to First Mercy Hospital as soon as possible. Gabby is in the hospital."

Beck's grip tightened on the cell phone. He knew the color entirely drained from his face. "Okay," he said. He swallowed hard. "What happened?"

Andre sighed. "I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that Tori rolled her car on the way to Gabby's school, and both of them were badly injured. They're both in the ER now." He paused. "They won't tell me much about Gabby since I'm not her next of kin, but from what I've heard on the news – and based off of what's left of that car – they're both lucky to be alive."

Beck released a trembling breath. "All right. I'm leaving now," he said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

After ending the call, he quickly made his way to the dressing room and changed into his street clothes, then frantically dug in his pants pocket for his keys. He found them, then quickly put on his jacket and slipped on his tennis shoes before striding out of the theater without another word to the cast or crew.

* * *

She was dead. She had to be dead. It was the only explanation for the environment around her. She couldn't move – something strong and sturdy was restraining her. She couldn't speak – something lodged in her throat and covering her nose and mouth ensured that. She couldn't even open her eyes – heavy bricks of drowsiness weighing down her eyelids made that particular task nearly impossible. Her body, as it was, was practically useless.

Yet, she knew that someone above her was speaking. His voice was oddly calm compared to the nearly panicked voices around him. She heard only bits and pieces of their conversation, catching words such as "neurogenic shock" and "severe concussion." She knew then that by some God given miracle, she most certainly was alive – but barely.

A gloved hand brushed over her cold, clammy skin as it began removing her ripped, bloody clothing. She was vaguely aware of a prick in her arm. Within mere moments, the world around her began to fade away. The tense conversation above her continued.

"And what of the girl?"

_Gabby._ Her beautiful, precious baby girl. She surely was all right.

As a wave of sheer terror passed through the young mother's body, the doctors in the emergency room continued to frantically work around her. Their anxious voices were slowly fading away as darkness began to close in around her.

What seemed like a lifetime passed by before another woman finally answered, "She's unresponsive and not breathing. CPR is being administered now. We'll need a defibrillator, stat."

"Yes, ma'am."

_No. No, that can't be,_ Tori mentally screamed._ She had been in her booster seat, seat belted in_, _just as she was supposed to be. Surely, there's a mistake. She _has_ to be responsive, she _has_ to be breathing, _she must be alive.

She couldn't dwell on the thought for long.

"We're losing her."

She was wrestling with death, although it was clearly winning. She was quickly drifting further away from the bright lights and anxious voices in the emergency room. Everything was replaced by a much different environment, a place of painless bliss and pure perfection.

And right then, nothing else mattered.

* * *

A world away, a young father waited restlessly in the waiting room. He slowly paced the floor. He blocked out the crying child on the opposite side of the room. He ignored the telephone that rang endlessly at the nurse's station, just outside the waiting room. He avoided the dark, bloodshot eyes of his ex-wife's grieving lover. Instead, he kept his gaze on the wood floor.

"This is ridiculous," Jade spat. From her chair in the center of the room, she glared at the closed door separating them from the doctors. "How long has it been?"

Beck glanced at his watch. "Four hours and twenty-two minutes," he murmured. He continued to pace. "She should be out of surgery by now. Maybe they're waiting for her to wake up, or – or maybe there were complications…" he trailed off. He sighed heavily and took a seat beside his wife. "What if she didn't make it?"

Jade took his hand gently and kissed him, but said nothing.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and one of the doctors stepped into the room. He was clad entirely in white. He was an older man with a full grey beard and mustache. His skin was pale and wrinkly. His soft blue eyes searched the room. "Beckett Oliver?"

He and his wife looked up. "Yes?"

The older man stepped toward the couple. "I'm Doctor Tompkins, the doctor on call this evening. You're here for Gabriella Oliver?"

Beck nodded. "How is she?"

"She's doing well." Tompkins smiled. "She's recovering from surgery now. We placed pins in her left arm, which was severely fractured. From the looks of it, her arm was crushed in the accident. She also suffered a severe concussion and may complain of frequent headaches, nausea, or dizziness, but that is to be expected. Of course, she'll have emotional turmoil to deal with once the shock of everything wears off, but overall, it looks as though she's going to be just fine. We're doing everything we can to keep her comfortable."

Beck released a heavy sigh. His grip on his wife's hand tightened as he whispered, "Thank God." He met the doctor's eyes steadily. "Where is she now? Can we see her?"

Tompkins nodded. "Yes, of course. She's in ICU 147."

Beck nodded his thanks. Tompkins had barely left the room before Beck was on his feet and halfway down the hall. Jade trailed not far behind.

He followed the winding hallway, anxiously scanning each room number. 153…151…149…147. _Perfect_. Without any hesitation, he stepped into the room – then stopped still at the sight before him.

Prior to that moment, he had held on to the hope that Gabriella would be unchanged. _Maybe_ she would be left with a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise, he had prayed that somehow, she had walked away from the car accident that afternoon virtually unscathed.

He was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Nonetheless, he strode over to his daughter's bedside. He gently clasped her uninjured hand between his, careful not to remove the IV from the dorsal side of her hand. His eyes never left her broken and bruised body.

Jade sighed from the doorway. "She's going to be okay, babe," she murmured. "The doctor said so himself."

Beck reached out with a trembling hand and gently pushed back a stray strand of hair from Gabriella's blackened eye. His fingers brushed against the red-stained gauze covering a majority of her forehead. His heart ached at the sight of it. "She's so still. _Too_ still." He sighed. "And she's still asleep. Why?"

"It's the anesthetics." Jade took a seat in a chair by the only window in the room. "Just give it time. She'll wake up." She shrugged. "It's probably best, anyway – at least for now. She's going to wake up in hell, that's for sure." She tilted her head thoughtfully. She studied her husband carefully. "Have you thought about what you're going to tell her when she asks about her mother?"

Beck shook his head slowly. His grip tightened on Gabriella's hand. "No." He kissed his daughter softly. "How do you tell a five year old her mother is dead? And on the same day that she lost her grandfather." He sighed. "I had no idea," he murmured, "but that does explain why Tori was acting so strange this morning. She must have been devastated."

"Yeah." Jade crossed her arms. "You know, I think it'll be easier than you think, telling Gabby the _tragic_ news. I'll even do it for you, if you want."

Beck only glared in response.

Suddenly, Gabriella began to stir. Anxiously, Beck leaned forward in his chair. "Gabby? Gabby, sweetheart, can you hear me?"

A soft moan escaped the little girl's lips. Very slowly, her eyes opened as far as her injury would allow them to. She met her father's eyes evenly. "Daddy?"

He exhaled a heavy sigh of relief. "Gabby," he whispered. "Thank God you're all right." He very carefully took her in his arms. "You _are_ okay, aren't you?" He pulled away gently to look at her. "Does anything hurt?"

She nodded slightly. "My head hurts, and my tummy doesn't feel very good." She grimaced. "I feel really sick."

"It's all right." Beck pressed a button on the side of her bed, summoning a nurse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get the nurse in here and maybe she can help you."

She nodded again and closed her eyes. Silence fell in the room.

As they waited, Beck turned and exchanged glances with Jade. She raised her eyebrows suggestively, but he shook his head. She stood and abruptly left the room. The door slammed shut behind her.

Gabriella jumped, startled by the sudden noise.

"Just relax, Gabby. It's all right. That was just the door." He kissed her softly. "The nurse should be in here soon. Are you feeling any better?"

She shook her head.

He sighed, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. "I'll find the nurse myself," he muttered. He pushed himself to his feet. "I'll be right back, all right?"

"No." Her eyes wide, she quickly reached out for him with her free arm. Her fingers tightened around his hand. "No, Daddy, don't leave me."

"I'll be right outside the door, sweetheart. I'll be right back." He tried to gently pry his hand away from hers, but she only tightened her grip.

"_Daddy_," she whined.

He sighed heavily. "Okay." He returned to his chair. "I'm here. I'm not leaving you. I'm staying right here." He caressed her cheek gently. "Why are you so scared?"

She bit her lip thoughtfully, but did not answer.

"Gabby?" he gently prodded. He tilted her chin slightly, forcing the child to meet his eyes. He found only fear and tears staring back at him. "What's wrong, baby? You're scaring me."

A lone tear escaped and ran down her cheek. "He took Mommy," she whispered. "He took Mommy and Grandpa, too. He took them both."

"Who? Who took them?"

"An angel," she replied matter-of-factly. "An angel took them."

Heavy silence fell in the room. Beck leaned back in the chair, stunned. "Gabby, I…" he sighed. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Baby, I am so, so sorry."

Tears were falling freely down her cheeks now. "Daddy, what if he comes for me next? What if you leave, then he takes me away from you, like he took Mommy from us?"

He didn't answer her. He couldn't. His broken heart wouldn't allow him to respond. Instead, without a word, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

Her wet cheeks pressed against his own as their tears mixed and became one. He kissed her. "I love you," he whispered, and she began to cry even harder. "You're safe here," he assured her. "You're safe."

He took a breath, taking in the very faint smell of cigarette smoke that lingered in her hair. His grief overpowered his anger in that moment, however, allowing him to brush the matter aside. Instead, he clutched his daughter even tighter, cherishing the moment as if it truly would be their last.

"Don't leave me, Daddy," she whispered.

He kissed her. "I won't. I never will."

* * *

Before I get a bunch of reviews and/or messages saying what a cruel writer I am - I'm already very aware of that ;) - I'm just letting you know that I did what I did for a reason. Trust me, I _don't_ find pleasure in killing off characters. I plan on writing a sequel to *this* story and make all of these stories into what I guess would be considered a series.


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